Fourth-quarter surge propels Milford boys basketball past Souhegan

AMHERST – Nobody could grab control during the Milford and Souhegan high school boys basketball matchup on Tuesday evening.

The Spartans raced out to a 14-4 lead after one and the Sabers fought back to take a 34-26 lead into the fourth, but then Milford had one more run in the tank during a 44-43 victory, ruining Souhegan’s unblemished record.

“It is a friendly rivalry between the two teams,” said Spartans coach Dan Murray. “We play them in the summer a lot, and I know a lot of their kids well. It is always nice to beat them though.”

The Spartans (3-2) were on fire all night from beyond the arc, scoring 30 of their 44 points from downtown on 10 3-pointers. Senior forward Max Fortin tallied a team-high 16 points with four treys for the visitors, while junior guard Jake Greska posted 13 points with a trio of 3-pointers.

Sophomore Matthew McCool led all scorers with 17 points for Souhegan (4-1), as he scored all 10 of his team’s points in the second frame.

Milford held a 19-14 lead at halftime, but then Sabers junior Samuel Corbett came out with a purpose in the third, notching all nine of his points in the frame. He scored three baskets on backdoor cuts and buried a top-of-the-arc three-ball, as he gave Souhegan the lead for the first time at 25-24 on a layup with 2:30 left in the third.

Senior Khaled Nazeer drilled a left-wing 3 for the hosts at the third-quarter buzzer, pushing the lead up to 34-26 heading into the fourth.

Milford answered the bell right away in the opening minute of the fourth, as Fortin and Greska buried back-to-back 3s, prompting Sabers coach Peter Pierce to call a timeout with his squad nursing a two-point lead with 7:05 left.

“The kids came over hanging their heads at the end of the third quarter,” Murray said. “The coaches are like we are only down eight points with eight minutes left. We came out and hit a couple big shots in the fourth and you could see their swagger come back. I think that was the key because we cut into that lead quickly and made it a two-point game.”

Fortin kept his foot on the throttle for Milford, cashing in on a shot from beyond the arc with 6:26 left, and then with 5:30 remaining, Greska put the Spartans ahead for good at 37-36 on a runner down the left baseline. The Spartans’ lead ballooned to 44-38 on a basket by senior guard Sam Santaniello, but the Sabers did not go quietly as a layup by senior Jeffrey Boehm with 46 seconds left trimmed the deficit to 44-43.

Souhegan locked down on the defensive end and forced a jump ball with 24.7 seconds left and the possession arrow pointing in its favor. On the final possession of the game with three seconds left, senior Jeffrey Kiesewetter had a good look at a right-wing 3-pointer, but the shot ricocheted off the rim and Milford earned the one-point win.

The Spartans had the long-range touch from the opening whistle, taking a 9-0 lead with 3:40 left in the first on 3-pointers by Greska, Fortin and Santaniello. The visitors led 14-4 at the end of one, but the second quarter was the McCool show for Souhegan. He showed the complete package, scoring twice from the line, exploding down the lane twice and finishing tough shots with contact, nailing a jumper and finishing a fast-break layup.

The Spartans and Sabers will be back in action on Friday at 6:30 p.m., as Milford will host Kearsarge and Souhegan will travel to Coe-Brown.